History Characters / LegendOfTheGalacticHeroesTheGoldenbaumDynasty

* ExcellentJudgeOfCharacter: He is one of two people who immediately see how capable Reinhard is (the other being Friedrich IV). [[spoiler:He is also all too aware of where the High Nobility is heading and thus quietly supports Reinhard's rise.]]

* AdaptationalAttractiveness: Downplayed. While the [=OVAs=] portray Maximilian von Castrop as a rotund troglodyte roleplaying as a Roman emperor, DNT depicts him as being more fit and dressed as a conventional nobleman. He's still brutish and despicable-looking, however.

* BadBoss: The threat of brutal punishment (as well as the Artemis Necklace) is pretty the only thing keeping Castrop's retainers vaguely loyal. The moment he loses his precious KillSat system and he orders his subordinates to launch an all-or-nothing assault, they dispose of him.

* CulturePolice: He was highly socially conservative, and many of his policies aimed at cracking down on "unhealthy" lifestyles and personal activities.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Early in his career as a young legal affairs officer attached to a Galactic Federation Armada unit patrolling the shipping lanes around Rigel, the young Rudolf became known for zealously prosecuting fellow soldiers (including superior officers) for what he deemed the "four vices" of alcohol, gambling, drugs and homosexuality. This foreshadowed his meteoric rise to power, and the kind of brutal regime he would usher in after becoming Kaiser.

* SoleSurvivor: She winds up being the last known Goldenbaum of her generation [[spoiler:not counting Erwin Josef II, who's [[TheStinger still alive somewhere]].]]

* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:Littenheim is killed by Commander Laudisch, a surviving soldier of the supply fleet that he had destroyed so he could escape from Kircheis and head back to Garmisch Fortress.]]

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When Mückenberger is first introduced, he's shown being a stern commander seemingly full of himself, yet also willing to hear what his subordinates have to say, giving a firm hint that he's not just a bumbling aristocrat.

* TheRival: To Reinhard, which gets on his nerves when their brief time under Vice Admiral Grimmelshausen. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for Lüneburg, the then Admiral Grimmelshausen favored Reinhard more.]]

* DramaticIrony: Rudolf had done everything he could to [[HeirClubForMen avoid having a female heir]], only for his line to culminate with one on the throne, even if briefly.

** Also to Walter von Schönkopf. Despite being a womanizer, Schönkopf still genuinely cares for the wellbeing of women to a degree while Lüneburg is decidedly less so. Moreover, while Schönkopf consistently stays true to his convictions despite his irreverence, Lüneburg is shown as being far more opportunistic and backstabbing, however much he hides that under a veneer of propriety.

** He's also one to Marquis (later Duke) Lichtenlade. While similar in being political animals lacking any private armies to fall back on, he neither has the Kaiser's patronage [[spoiler:at least until Reinhard and eventually his own daughter assume power]] nor abuses the privileges granted to him by his station. Unlike Lichtenlade, however, Mariendorf turns out to be a genuinely benevolent administrator, isn't obsessed with power and has the dignity [[{{Cincinnatus}} to step down when circumstances call for it]], rather than testing his luck by clinging on [[spoiler:as Lichtenlade finds out the hard way.]]

* ReassignedToAntarctica: It's implied that Mariendorf's "assignment" to bring the insubordinate Maximilian von Castrop back in line, which in turn led to his capture and the Castrop Rebellion, may been an attempt by the Imperial DecadentCourt to not only have him internally exiled [[UriahGambit but potentially killed]].

* MoralityChain: Downplayed. Lüneburg's sister served as one, though nowhere near the same degree as Reinhard's relationship with Annerose.

* FallenHero: He's seen as such to the Rosen Ritters. Even Schönkopf, after killing him, still has enough respect for the man to give him a dignified sendoff.

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: Despite seemingly succeeding in defecting from the Alliance and having some legitimacy to the Goldenbaum throne, Luneberg's ultimately slain by Walter von Schönkopf, one of the very Rosen Ritters he betrayed, in single combat.

* TheRival: To Reinhard, which gets on his nerves when their brief time under Vice Admiral Grimmelshausen. [[spoiler:Unfortunately for Luneberg, the then Admiral Grimmelshausen favored Reinhard more.]]

A former commander of the Alliance’s Rosen Ritter who later defected back to the Empire. He stands as a rival for Reinhard during the Gaiden series until he is killed via the political machinations of the Imperial Court, and more directly by the very Rosen Ritter he abandoned.

A former commander of the Alliance’s Rosen Ritter who later defected back to the Empire. He stands as a rival for Reinhard during the Gaiden series until he is killed via the political machinations of the Imperial Court.

** To Reinhard von Musel. Luneberg specialized in land battles as a former Rosen Ritter commander while Reinhard was better at space battles. Luneberg is also what Reinhard could have been if he had neither Kircheis nor Annerose in his life: he did not see women the same way as him, and he favored political machinations than his merits in combat. Furthermore, despite his attempts, he had very few friends in the Imperial Court and [[spoiler:was killed indirectly as a result of such]] whereas Reinhard gained even the Kaiser’s favor.
** Also to Walter von Schönkopf. Despite being a womanizer, Schönkopf still cared well for the wellbeing of women to a degree while Luneberg is less so. Moreover, while Schönkopf consistently stays true to his convictions despite his irreverence, Luneberg is shown as being far more opportunistic and backstabbing.
* {{Nepotism}}: Part of the reason he'd been able to return to the Empire in relatively good standing is because his supposed bloodline connection with the ruling Goldenbaum Dynasty.
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: Despite seemingly succeeding in defecting from the Alliance and having some legitimacy to the Goldenbaum throne, [[spoiler:Luneberg's ultimately slain by Walter von Schönkopf, one of the very Rosen Ritters he betrayed, in single combat]].

* WelcomeBackTraitor: Despite having served in the Alliance, Luneberg is able to use his noble background and political connections to gain a foothold, however small, in the Empire's DecadentCourt.

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* TheHedonist: In his youth, Friedrich IV gained such a reputation for indulging in personal pleasure that he spent much of the wealth saved by his spendthrift father, Otfried V in the years following his coronation. This becomes downplayed by the time Reinhard enters the picture, in which Friedrich IV is shown seemingly being more fixated on gardening and social galas than anything else.

* {{Hypocrite}}: After the Lippstadt Rebellion starts to unravel, he gives an [[GoYeHeroesGoAndDie impassioned yet ineffectual speech]] denouncing anyone who would run away from the coming battle as a DirtyCoward -- then immediately makes an aside comment to one of his aides revealing he's made an escape shuttle ready for himself.

* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: It's believed even by some in the Alliance that while Rudolf might have had some self-restraint early on in his career, things spiraled out of control the moment he gained any semblance of power and influence.

* StraightEdgeEvil: Rudolf abhorred drugs and alcohol and kept himself in excellent physical shape even into his 80s. As part of his obsession with a strong image he held his tenets of great health as a mark for genetic fitness and executed or imprisoned those who failed to meet his standards as undesirables at whim.

The antepenultimate Kaiser of the Goldenbaum dynasty, considered by everyone, even himself, to be a mediocre and hands-off sovereign whose chief concerns seem to be his gardening and consorts.

The penultimate Kaiser of the Goldenbaum dynasty. He ruled over the Galactic Empire InNameOnly for about two years, with Prime Minister Reinhard von Lohengramm holding most of the power, before "abdicating" and setting the stage for the final collapse of the old order.

* ObfuscatingStupidity: It's not outright stated, but this is almost certainly the case. He pretends to be an ignorant, useless old man, but he was the first noble to figure out just how talented and dangerous Reinhard really was. He also had one of the longest reigns in Imperial history, as he was smart enough not to play favorites with Braunschweig and Littenheim, while never naming a successor after his son Ludwig's death. Not only did he do nothing to prevent Reinhard from gaining more power when he was fully capable of doing so, but continuously promoted Reinhard to even more powerful positions. In short, he was subtly paving the way for Reinhard to take over the Empire.

* HiddenBackupPrince: While descended from Otfried V through his third daughter, Katharin's claim is low enough that own father and regent, Viscount Offer von Pegnitz, was a nobody by High Noble standards even after being promoted to a Duke, with no interest in politics or the military whatsoever. [[spoiler:The documents of abdication he signed on her behalf coincidentally also guaranteed the Pegnitz family's new noble rank as a duchy and granted Katharin a lifelong annuity of 1.5 million Imperial Marks.]] Also justified, due to how the Lippstadt Rebellion [[spoiler:and kidnapping of Erwin Josef II]] pruned the line of succession of ''everyone else''.

* PuppetKing: Much more so than her predecessor, Katharin's entire purpose is to serve as a formality and legal crutch to justify the final stages of Reinhard's scheme. Her father, meanwhile, is likewise shown to be a glorified rubber stamp [[spoiler:and seems relieved when Reinhard finally drops the charade by assuming the throne]].